


Masterpiece

by futureimperfect, Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)



Series: Circumstance [6]
Category: Original Work
Genre: BDSM, Cunnilingus, F/F, Femslash, Original Femslash, Spanking, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-02
Updated: 2010-02-02
Packaged: 2017-10-06 23:40:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect, https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caterina sees more than just a potential dogsitter in Sadie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Connected](https://archiveofourown.org/works/56550) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo). 



> A/N: All characters were created by and belong to the authors. Please do not use without permission.
> 
> We would like to note that this fic, as it progresses, is in no way meant to represent an entirely realistic representation of the BDSM Scene. This is a fictionalized, somewhat Romanticized account, in which many of the intricate details are left between the lines. However, despite the poetic license, we hope the portrayal is thoughtful and enjoyable.

The sun streamed through the high windows in Caterina's office and made patterns on the concrete floor. From the outside, the building seemed ordinary—old and ordinary—but the sleek lines and efficient organization of her office was an indication of how much work the architects had put into making a technology developer fit, seemingly effortlessly, into an antique Parisian building. Caterina had wanted it that way though, wanted a place in the city rather than building somewhere else. And Caterina always got what she wanted.

Caterina leaned against the lab table. "Well, if she'll do it, that's fine with me." She smiled at Michel. "You said she was dropping by when she got out of class?" Michel nodded, "Oui, she should be here any moment." He rocked his chair back and smiled when he spotted Sadie through the glass. "Ah, there she is."

Sadie waited politely while the secretary buzzed in, even though she could see her father standing there with his boss. She was hot--Sadie had to admit that. but if she could get out of it, she would prefer not to walk dogs. But when she walked in, she put on a sweet smile and offered her hand. "Hello, Your Grace. I'm Sadie."

"Caterina, please." She was careful that her smile wasn't too friendly. It was never a good idea to flirt with someone in front of one of their parents, no matter how attractive they were. "Your father's volunteered your services while I'm in Japan. I hope you don't mind."

Her father hadn't mentioned the Japan part, but Sadie continued to smile. She would much rather have had the prospect of catching Caterina at home once in a while. "Of course. I'd be delighted." She stepped close to her father and he put his arm around her shoulders. The picture perfect family.

"Wonderful." She dug a card out of her pocket and wrote her address down. "Well, I don't want to keep you from your lunch. Can you drop by this evening where I can go over everything?"

"Yes, of course." Sadie took the card and gave it a cursory glance before acknowledging Caterina again. She then turned to her father. "I'll see you later, Papa," she said before kissing him on the cheek. Then she left, sneaking a look at Caterina over her shoulder once she was out of the office. Caterina smiled at Sadie as she left and thanked her father before going back to her office to get everything settled for her trip.

That evening after rehearsal, Sadie checked the card once again and then looked up at the gate. It was definitely locked, but almost the moment she rang, someone was there to attend to that. She walked up the drive, determined to be unimpressed but failing even so. Caterina's assistant let Sadie in and showed her to a sitting room. "Caterina will be here in a minute." She smiled, juggling two blackberries and a notebook.

"Actually, I'm here now." Caterina walked into the sitting room. "Thanks," It was obviously a dismissal and her assistant took it as such. Sadie refrained from raising her eyebrows, but the instinct was there. She had been close to sitting, but she rose again, putting on her smile for Caterina.

"It's good to see you again." Caterina offered her hand. "I'm sorry if this is a bit rushed. I've always got too much to do and not enough time. Why don't I introduce you to the dogs?"

Sadie shook her hand and nodded. "I'd like to meet them. Papa didn't say what kind or how many..."

"Three." She walked through the house, headed toward the back yard. "They're outside right now. Really, they just need the company." She opened the back door and stepped outside. She whistled and the dogs headed toward her. "The Tibetan mastiff is Dalai, and the wolfhounds are Finn and Maeve.

For some reason, Sadie had expected poodles or small dogs or something. She tried not to freeze, however, when the giant animals ran towards her. "Wow...they're...big."

Caterina grinned. The dogs slowed as they got closer and stopped once they were within arms reach. "Don't worry. They're very well trained." She sank a hand into Dalai's fur and scratched at his neck. "They're a bit too big to sit well, but they won't jump up on you." She bent down and petted all of them. "Okay, guys, this is Sadie. She's going to be taking care of you for a few days." She smiled up at Sadie. "You can pet them if you want."

For some reason, she didn't think being timid would go over too well with Caterina or with the dogs, so Sadie sucked it up and went for both of the wolfhounds, scratching there necks and smiling at them. "Hi there..."

Finn and Maeve sniffed her curiously. It only took a second before Maeve pulled away and laid down. Finn wagged his tail but didn't push closer, even though he clearly wanted to. "I really just need someone to come over and let them out a couple of times a day. There are some balls over there." She pointed to a bin. "Maeve and Finn should play. Dalai probably won't." She stood back up and wiped her hands on her pants. "So it's really just that and feeding them."

"You can take them for walks if you want, but they should be fine running around out there."

Sadie smiled. "Alright, that seems fair." She stepped closer to Finn and knelt, making her shorter than him. "Uhm...do I need a key or something?"

"I've got a key inside for you, alone with the number to the vet and the number to my assistant." Caterina smiled down at Sadie and Finn. "You're welcome to hang out in the house if you want." Her smile turned into a smirk. "Just don't invite over your 16 closest friends."

"Oh...I...don't have a ton of time for parties right now with rehearsals...so...no worries." She smiled up at Caterina, betting that the woman's liquor cabinet was pretty well stocked.

"Go on." Caterina waved a hand at the dogs and they wandered away. "If you're ready to go inside?"

"Sure." Sadie's father didn't say much about Caterina...other than that she was brilliant and a competent employer for an Englishwoman. He certainly had never told Sadie how gorgeous the woman was.

Caterina led her back inside and toward the kitchen. There was a folder sitting on the counter, and after she washed her hands, she pulled it over. There was a small cylinder on a key ring sitting on top and she pick it up. "This is the key. It'll open the gate and the front door automatically. You can just keep it in your pocket or purse." She held it out.

Sadie took it and looked it over before slipping it into her purse. "Thanks. And their food is in the kitchen?"

"It's in the pantry." She opened the door, showing Sadie a neatly stacked tower of dog food next to a large plastic container filled with dry. "They get a can each in the morning and two scoops of the dry should fill up their bowls at night. And the vet's number and my number are in the folder."

Sadie nodded again, committing the instructions to memory. "I'll take good care of them, Madame."

"Thank you for agreeing to do it. I know you're father volunteered you without asking" Caterina smiled. "You can help yourself to whatever." She waved a hand around the kitchen. "The liquor is in bar," she pointed to an adjoining room, "as is some wine, though I'd prefer it if you didn't raid my cellar." There were some very good bottles of wine down there, and if she took a wrong turn, well, she could find all sorts of interesting things.

Sadie nodded again. "Really, it's my pleasure. I hope you have a good trip."

"Thank you." Caterina leaned against the counter. "Do you have anymore questions?"

"None that I can think of," Sadie answered as she picked up the folder.

"Good." Caterina pushed off of the counter and headed toward the front door. "I'm leaving tonight and I should be back on Sunday."

When Sadie returned the next morning, the place seemed completely empty. She wondered why Caterina would live in a big house like that all alone, but she supposed one had to have someone to put all of that...stuff. And she was determined to have a bigger house one day. She fed the dogs and studied her lines a bit before heading off to her next class, coming back the next night.

Finn wandered out to greet her. He wagged his tail and looked for permission to get closer. "Hi...come on..." she said, patting her legs and smiling at him. "Where's your friends, huh?" Finn pushed his nose into Sadie's hand. Sadie sat down on the floor and started to pet him, stroking his fur. "You're a sweet guy." Finn wagged his tail and turned toward the kitchen where Maeve was lying, waiting for them

"Right...I guess you're both ready..." Sadie got down their food and portioned it out to them before looking around for the other dog.

Finn took a couple of bites, then noticed that Dalai wasn't there and that Sadie was looking for him. He wandered over to the stair to the cellar and let loose one bark. Dalai whined plaintively from the bottom the stairs.

"Oh...shit," Sadie muttered. She found the light switch and then made her way down the stairs. "Hey boy...what's going on? You're not supposed to be down here...c'mon..." Dalai sniffed at Sadie, then looked at the stair and whined again, only tentatively putting a paw on the bottom one.

"Come on...it's okay..." She tried backing away, coaxing him back up. Dalai backed away from the stairs and into an open doorway, disappearing from view.

"Dalai...come on..." Sadie didn't really even think of what Caterina had said about the wine cellar. She just didn't want to spend all night coaxing the huge dog back up, so she followed him.

The room was dark and Dalai was nowhere to be seen. As Sadie walked into the room, the lights came up. Dalai was lying in the center of the rug in the center of the room. "Hey, you," she said, relieved that he hadn't fallen into a pit or knocked over some wine racks or something. "Come on...it's time for dinner."

At the word dinner, Dalai's ear perked up and he trotted past her and up the stairs. The room Sadie was standing in was clearly not a wine cellar. Sadie turned to follow him, but it occurred to her that she hadn't turned the lights on at all. When she went looking for a switch, she actually saw the room, with its hooks and chains and various instruments made of leather, for the first time. "Oh...shit..."


	2. Exposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Caterina finds Sadie misbehaving, she reacts quite curiously.

Caterina sighed as she walked into her front door, happy to be home. Things had wrapped up early, for which she was eternally grateful, as it meant she got to go into work on Monday without a terrible case of jet lag. She dropped her bag next to the staircase and checked the security system. She frowned as she saw a file still open. Apparently, Sadie was still here, though Caterina didn't hear her anywhere. "Sadie?" She wandered toward the kitchen looking for the girl.

Sadie grinned at Chloe. She had her clumsily tied up, but it worked, and they were quite enjoying themselves. She was afraid to play with anything else though...and she didn't know what half of it was. She hadn't heard Caterina come in, and Chloe wasn't exactly being quiet.

As soon as she walked by the staircase to the cellar, Caterina knew what was going on. Her frown deepened. That door should have been locked. She shook her head. Should and were too different things and now she had to make sure that Sadie wasn't doing anything stupid. It was a good thing that she wasn't easily embarrassed. She went down the stairs and pushed open the door to the room, paying only enough attention to the scene to know that no one was being hurt. "Sadie, whenever you're done, I'd like a word upstairs."

Sadie's jaw dropped and she blushed, cheeks hot. For a moment she was frozen, staring at Caterina's back as she walked up the stairs. She didn't think about the fact that she was naked, that she had her fingers still in another girl or that the other girl was completely freaking out. "Shit," she whispered as she undid the knots she'd tied and pulled on her clothes, forgetting about Chloe and hurrying upstairs. Her father was going to kill her.

Caterina walked into a study. She'd left the door open where Sadie wouldn't have any trouble finding her. This wasn't exactly the kind of conversation that she wanted to be having in jeans and a sweatshirt, but there wasn't time to change. It wasn't that she particularly minded Sadie having sex in her house, which was what the room was for after all, but that she was involving herself in things that she clearly didn't understand. She poured herself a glass of scotch and sat down to wait. After taking a moment to compose herself, Sadie walked into the study, trying to look as contrite as possible.

She raised an eyebrow as Sadie walked in. "Having a good night?"

"You're...early," was all Sadie could manage.

"Yes. And I suppose that's my fault. I should have called." Caterina was looking Sadie over. "You skipped a button." She nodded toward Sadie's shirt. "I take it the dogs are still in one piece."

Without batting an eye, Sadie unbuttoned and buttoned her shirt back up. Caterina had seen her naked, after all. "They're good...they miss you, I think. I...uhm...found the room when Dalai decided he wanted to go downstairs and freak out about coming up."

"Dalai gets spooked sometimes." Caterina watched Sadie unbutton her shirt, not bothering to try to hide her interest. "And that door shouldn't have been open, so I suppose I'll need to look at the security system. But neither of those things explains why you were down there fucking... whoever that was." She waved her hand dismissively.

Sadie licked her lips, noticing just where Caterina's eyes were lingering. Well, that was interesting; she wasn't going to discourage it if it would keep her out of trouble. "We just wanted to have some fun."

"Is that what that was?" Caterina smirked disdainfully.

Sadie crossed her arms defensively and shifted, not sure what exactly Caterina was trying to imply.

"Because it rather looked like amateur hour at a backwater leather bar." Caterina just really couldn't resist.

Generally, Sadie was not one to be at a loss for words, but at that, her jaw simply dropped and her cheeks flushed bright red.

"Which is perfectly fine, if your into that sort of thing," She waved one hand dismissively and sunk her other in Dalai's fur as he walked up beside her. "I'm just glad that you didn't hurt yourself, or her."

"I'm not stupid enough to play with things that I don't know how to use," Sadie said, almost sulking.

Caterina raised her eyebrows. "Mmm. I suppose that's to your credit." She stood. "I supposed I need to write you a check."

Sadie shifted. "What can I do to get you not to tell my dad about this?" she asked. She didn't want to sit and wait, worrying about whether Caterina had said something, so she thought it best to be direct.

Caterina chuckled. "Why on Earth would I tell your father? More to point, how would I tell him? 'Oh, Michel, by the way, I caught your daughter having sex in my play room. Yes, she had a girl tied to the bed down there.'" Caterina shook her head.

"Right..." Sadie shifted, still blushing, but she didn't look away or down.

Dalai followed Caterina as she walked out of the room. "My checkbook is in my office. You're welcome to come up if you like."

Sadie followed, brushing her hand over Dalai's back. "Do you actually use that room? I mean...no offense, but your house barely seems lived in," she said casually.

"I spend most of time at work, but yes, I used it. I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of setting it up if I didn't." Caterina headed upstairs and into her office.

"Used and use aren't the same thing," Sadie murmured.

"Using it requires there be someone that I want to use it with, which there isn't at the moment." Caterina opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out her checkbook and a pen. She wrote Sadie a check for 500 euro and handed to her.

Sadie didn't look at the check; Caterina had already caught her having sex, so she didn't think she should be even more polite.

"Mm...well, that's a shame, I guess." She put her hands on her hips and tossed her hair back. "I guess I'd better go."

Caterina crossed her arms. "I hope that I can trust you to be discrete about just what you saw in that room."

"Yeah, it's cool. I..." She shifted, hands still on her hips. "Your secret's safe with me."

"Thank you." Caterina got up to show Sadie out.

Sadie hoped to hell that Chloe had gotten out because she wasn't about to go down and see about her. She followed Caterina down, petting the dogs one last time before hurrying out, pausing to look back. She was pretty sure Caterina wouldn't be asking her to take care of the dogs again.

Caterina watched Sadie go, feeling like she was missing an opportunity. A few hours later, she was staring at her cellphone. She still had Sadie's cellphone number in it and her finger hovered over the call button. She wasn't sure what pushed her over the edge to calling it, but suddenly the phone was at her ear and the other end was playing some ridiculous song that she could barely understand.

"'allo," Sadie answered, still laughing from some awful joke one of her friends had made. She had a glass of wine and a cigarette, and she hadn't looked to see who was calling.

"Sadie, it's Caterina... I'm sorry if I'm interrupting..."

"Oh..." She sat up and put out her cigarette. "No, not at all..." Caterina was the last person Sadie thought she would hear from.

"Would you care to join me for a drink?" Caterina tried not to overthink what she was doing?

"Uhm...yeah, I mean, of course. That'd be great."

"Tonight? Care to meet me?" Caterina wasn't expecting Sadie to say no.

"Absolutely...I'm...on the West Bank right now. Where were you thinking?" She was standing now.

"There's a private club," Caterina began, finishing by giving Sadie the address. "Just tell the doorman you're there to see me and he'll let you in."

"Right...I'll be right there." Sadie hung up her phone and walked off, catching a cab without a word to her friends. When she got to the club she squinted at the symbol on the door; there was no sign and this wasn't a place she was familiar with. But Sadie mounted the stairs anyway and let the knocker fall against the door.

The doorman opened the door. "May I help you?" He smiled his most friendly smile.

Sadie licked her lips. "I'm meeting Caterina Saxton here..."

"Of course." He stepped back. "She's just this way." He led her down a back hallway to a private room and tapped on the door before he opened it for Sadie. "Here we are."

Sadie looked around as they walked. It seemed almost too quiet. When Caterina said "private club" she had expected to find a bunch of Englishmen drinking or something. She took a deep breath when she stepped into the room, wondering what she would find there.

Caterina was sitting in a club chair beside a cold fireplace, her legs crossed and certainly not in jeans and a sweatshirt anymore. She smiled almost gently when Sadie stepped into the room. "Come in. I'm glad you made it."

"Thanks..." Sadie took in Caterina's appearance and something inside of her twisted in delight. "This place is..." Weird. "Interesting."

"You don't know the half of it." Caterina smirked. "But after our last encounter, I thought it might be something you were interested in."

Oh, shit. It dawned on Sadie then what she might have just walked into. She had read things like _O _and other stuff, but she didn't think places like this were so...real. Sadie swallowed and tried not to fidget as her eyes darted around the ordinary enough looking room. "Cool..."

Caterina chuckled. "Don't look so nervous. No one's going to appear out of the woodwork and lock you in a cell or anything." It was really rather adorable how easy it was to seen Sadie's thoughts on her face.

The redhead crossed her arms and pursed her lips. She didn't like being read that way...especially when she thought she was much more mysterious than that. "I'm fine."

"Mmm." Caterina stood up, abandoning her scotch in favor of something that she hoped would prove to me much more interesting. "Would you like a tour? I had the manager bring you through the back hallways where you wouldn't see anything before we had a chance to talk."

"A tour? Okay." Sadie wondered just what she would see, and she was too curious to closely hide her eagerness. If this meant that she was going to get to sleep with Caterina at some point, that would be an absolutely epic score, and she was all for that.

"Good." Caterina opened the door and ushered Sadie out, toward the main common area. She wasn't exactly sure what was planned for the night, but she was certain that Sadie would get an eyeful.

Sadie followed, taking in the details of the place. It was something of an old house and restaurant and bar put together. There wasn't much she appreciated about the decor--Caterina's sleek underground room seemed more interesting--but she could see how this place was old, something straight out of a book, and she liked the general air. She could hear voices as they got closer to the common room, and she felt her heart starting to beat faster in anticipation, but she tried to look impassive.

Caterina kept her hand on the small of Sadie's back as they walked into the common room, which for that night was set up more like a sculpture exhibition than anything else. Slaves in various poses stood on pedestals as other members wandered between them, occasionally brushing a hand over a leg or back, or tweaking a nipple, or otherwise making it difficult for the sculptures to stay still. She wondered what Sadie would make of it and rubbed her thumb against the girl's back as she took it in.

The sight wasn't any different from anything Sadie had seen on HBO...save that it was a million times more classy. But it was Caterina's hand on her back made Sadie's stomach twist in delight. There was something about that firm touch that was absolutely thrilling, absolutely tantalizing. She walked through the sculpture garden, noticing how some slaves stood straighter than others, how some really did look like gorgeous statues. "Wow..."

"Mmm." Caterina guided her toward the bar, noticing just how easy that was. "What are you drinking?"

"I...uhm...pernod," she replied a little breathlessly. It was the last thing she'd had, and she wasn't going to turn down a free drink, especially when Caterina made that sound like it wasn't an option.

Caterina nodded at the bartender and picked up both the pernod and her own glass of champagne. "There's more to see." There wasn't anything going on in the arena that night, but she wanted Sadie to see it anyway. She held the drink out almost like a lure as she headed in that direction.

Sadie followed, becoming a little mesmerized by it all. she hardly realized that they were going down stairs until the arena opened up before her. "What is this?" she asked, blinking.

"A small arena." Caterina opened a gate that let them down onto the dirt covered track. "This place is built on top of some old Roman ruins. There are baths through that corridor, though there are easier ways to get to those." She waved toward an opening off to the side. She finally handed Sadie her drink. "Well, go there next."

"Wow...that's so awesome," Sadie said, her face lighting with something akin to childlike pleasure. It really was like something out of a book. "How long has this place been here?" she asked before taking a sip of her drink.

"This club has been here since the mid-nineteenth century, but the building is older than that." Caterina guided her toward the baths, opening another gate for them and then stepping into a long corridor, cleverly lit to mimc glow of torches.

Sadie didn't realize it, but she had gulped down most of her drink as they walked through the hallway. It seemed like they were the only two people there; it was so quiet.

As they walked to an even lower level, Caterina moved her hand from Sadie's back to the back of her neck, where she rubbed her thumb over Sadie's spine. She was starting to feel a low burn of arousal, and rather than ignore it, she pulled Sadie to her and kissed her, hoping that she wouldn't be rebuffed.

"Oh..." Sadie moaned into the kiss, letting herself melt forward into Caterina . She became aware of how aroused with anticipation she had become at the firm touch and squirmed lightly against Caterina, catching the scent of her perfume.

"Mmm..." Caterina ended the kiss, but kept a firm grip on Sadie. She'd noticed how Sadie had pressed into her, and it made her smile in anticipation. Caterina hoped the girl had as much potential as she thought she did. "We're done with the tour." She guided Sadie into one of the baths.

"Right," Sadie said softly. She swallowed and kept her eyes fixed in front of her, feeling nothing but Caterina's hand on her neck and her own arousal. That the room was warm and damp was something she barely noticed. She couldn't imagine what else they had to see.

Caterina led her through the baths, nodding at some of the people she knew, though the baths were only lightly occupied. "I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into." She kissed Sadie's hair and rubbed her neck.

"Yeah..." Sadie blushed lightly, wishing she could be a little more together in her responses. Even though she felt like she was in a complete daze, she looked at each of the people that Caterina nodded to, wondering if she would see them again, if she was going to end up like the statues one day.

Caterina chuckled. She was fairly sure that Sadie was capable of being more eloquent, but she didn't blame her for being a bit overwhelmed. "Why don't we go back to my room, hmmm?" She led them out of the bath and shivered when the cooler air hit her skin.

Sadie shivered as well and found herself moving closer to Caterina. she was still gripping her empty drink glass, not wanting to drop it, to do something stupid and end all of this. The route they took to Caterina's room was a shorter one, but Sadie had lost track of the corridors and steps. When they were back, she noticed that a fire had been lit. "So...why are you showing me all of this...really?" she asked, trying not to sound as breathless as she felt.

"I would think that would be obvious." She took Sadie's glass from her and set it on the mantle. "I don't think you would have been tying someone to one of my beds if you didn't want something."

"I've read a lot..." she said, nearly blurted, and her cheeks began to burn with how childish she knew she sounded.

Caterina smiled, suppressing a laugh. "And you thought you might like to try it out for real?"

"I...guess..." Sadie shrugged, trying to appear more nonchalant than she actually felt. She wished Caterina would just kiss her again and they could leave talking for later...or never.

She put her hand back on Sadie's neck, running her fingers through the hair at her nape. Caterina thought that Sadie might appreciate the reassurance. "Well, do you want to try it?" It occurred to her then that Sadie still had a key to her house, and that overlooking something like that wasn't like her. It was easy enough to reprogram the frequency and make the key useless, but she was starting to think that wouldn't be necessary.

The word was on the tip of Sadie's tongue, but she bit it back. She manipulated the moment, letting it linger, thicken as she looked up into Caterina's eyes. She didn't really have to consider, not after what she had seen, but the appearance of consideration was important. Sadie knew the value of appearances, however false they might have been, and she had a feeling that would come in handy with this. "Yes, I would."

"Good." Caterina leaned in and kissed Sadie, her hand still on Sadie's neck. "We can talk about what I expect later," and what Sadie expected, but Caterina wasn't ready to let her know that she got some say in the matter. Right now, she was simply too aroused to bother and she didn't think that Sadie would really be able to focus. "I've been wanting to take you to bed since I first met you." And she was going to do just that.

Sadie could have melted to the floor right then, but she tried to steady herself with a shuddering breathing. This was almost too good to be true, so she leaned forward to kiss Caterina, making sure one last time that it wasn't a dream.

Caterina allowed Sadie her initiative and returned the kiss. Her hand were steady as she lifted Sadie's shirt, pulling it off of her in one swift motion. She was unbuttoning Sadie's pants before the shirt hit the floor. She knew she was being hasty, but it had been a while since she'd taken a lover and he anticipation was making her anxious.

"Shit," Sadie breathed as she stepped out of her pants. She had never been undressed so fast in her life, but she had a feeling she was going to learn how to be quick about it in the future.

Caterina chuckled and pushed Sadie back toward the bedroom. Her movements had a determined, predatory edge and it was apparent just why she such a successful businesswoman.

When the backs of Sadie's knees hit the bed, she toppled onto it, reaching out for Caterina as she gasped. She shivered under that gaze, already aching for what would come next.

Caterina pulled her own dress off and climbed on top of Sadie. "I hope you're worth it," she goaded.

The redhead narrowed her eyes and wrapped her legs around Caterina. She was quite sure she was worth it, at least, and why would Caterina go to the trouble if she wouldn't be? "I am," Sadie growled.

She smirked, interested in Sadie's response. She certainly had a healthy ego. "We'll see." She flicked open Sadie's bra and covered her breasts with her hands.

Sadie moaned appreciatively, arching into Caterina's touch. "What do I have to do?" she asked, breathless. If there was a challenge, she would rise to it, Caterina could be sure of that.

"Only everything you're told." Caterina smirked knowing that it was much easier to agree to a thing like that than actually accomplish it.

"Right," Sadie murmured, nuzzling against Caterina's neck. She could handle that.

"You're naiveté is adorable." Caterina would quickly take care of that. She licked one of Sadie's nipples, and then bit down on it. She kept alternating as she pulled Sadie's panties off.

Sadie moaned and tightened her legs around Caterina, pressing her hips into her. Compared to fooling around with Chloe earlier that night, this was...this wasn't even on the same level and they had barely begun. But she didn't like being taken for naive, and she would have bristled if not for the obvious pleasure. "Mm...yeah, whatever."

Caterina chucked and pushed her fingers into Sadie. "You are going to be so much fun." She was already thinking of spankings and paddlings and whippings and Sadie squirming and whimpering. She was already thinking about her begging. She decided that last one couldn't wait and she started fucking Sadie more roughly, but pulling back slightly whenever she got close.

Sadie gasped, lifting her hips into the touch and unwrapping her legs from around Caterina. She dug her toes into the comforter, moaning loudly. Sweat was beginning to form a sheen on her shin, and she could feel the fabric underneath her growing wet, and with each time she came close, she became more frustrated, gritting her teeth together and squirming for more contact.

"All you have to do is ask." Caterina kissed her sweetly and kept thrusting her fingers into Sadie, occasionally flicking her clit.

Sadie shuddered and licked her lips. All she had to do was ask, and she didn't like that one bit. But she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, trying to clear her head. She smiled up at Caterina just as sweetly, almost needily. "Please..."

Caterina smiled at her. They would work on sincerity later; for now, it was enough. She pressed a finger against Sadie's clit and rubbed it as she fucked her, not pulling back this time. In only a moment, Sadie had reached her climax and was gripping the comforter, twisting it in her hands as she writhed under Caterina, moaning, loudly.

She ran her hands over Sadie as she calmed, stroking her sides and her stomach. "Perfect." She knew already that she was going to enjoy this immensely.

Sadie panted as she came down, opening her eyes to slits to see Caterina looking down at her. She smiled at the praise, stretching into the touch, completely soaking it in.

"Don't get too comfortable." Caterina kept petting Sadie, and pulled her close. Sadie's skin was cool with sweat and it made Caterina shiver.

"Okay?" Sadie couldn't help but snuggle into Caterina's side. She wanted to know more; she wanted to do that again.

Caterina put one of Sadie's hands on her stomach and then wrapped her arms around her. Sadie sighed contentedly, getting comfortable in spite of herself. Caterina smelled delightful, and she could have fallen asleep so easily.

"Sadie, if you fall asleep before you make me come, I'm going to be very unhappy with you." There was only a hint of real threat in her voice.

"Uhm...right." She sat up, blinking lazily as she gently pushed Caterina fully on her back. Sadie kissed her lightly before kissing down her body, giving her breasts cursory treatment before applying her skills between Caterina's legs.

Caterina filed Sadie's lack of thoroughness away. She would do something about that later, but for now she was content with Sadie between her legs. She was wet from watching Sadie squirm and she wrapped her hands in Sadie's hair to keep her in place.

Sadie grinned into Caterina's skin and continued, using her tongue with as much pressure as she dared, wanting to se Caterina come.

It didn't take much to make Caterina come and a few moments later she was moaning and pulling Sadie's head closer. She took a deep breath and sighed as she finished, then pulled Sadie to her, kissing her deeply.

She sighed into the kiss, knowing that she could come again in a heartbeat, but Sadie settled against Caterina's chest, content to doze. Caterina held Sadie there, idly running a hand down her back as she dozed. She didn't want to sleep there that night, but she was content for the moment.

Sadie snuggled into the touch, falling asleep fully within moments. Caterina let Sadie sleep for a bit before she slid out of bed and started getting dressed. Once she had her clothing back on, she shook Sadie slightly.

"Mm?" Sadie intoned before rolling over.

"I'm going home." She kissed Sadie's cheek. "You can either come with me, or you can go home, but you can't stay here."

"I can't?" she groaned, rolling back over and opening her eyes.

"As you're not a member, and you're not going to be with a member, no." Caterina sat Sadie's clothing at the edge of the bed. "Which means you have to get up now."

Truthfully, she was sure she could arrange with the manager to let Sadie sleep there for the night, but she wanted to see what the girl would do once she had been woken up. And she didn't want to start spoiling her just yet.

"Mmkay," Sadie grumbled as she slid out of bed and dressed slowly, fumbling with the button of her pants before finally getting it. She rubbed her eyes as she turned back to Caterina, indicating that she was ready.

Caterina opened the door and ushered Sadie out, a hand on the small of her back. She would have to see about getting the girl measured for a proper collar soon, though she didn't think she would be bring her back to the club until she was a bit better trained. A beginner's bumbling was only amusing for so long. "Are you come with me, or do I need to get you a car?"

"I'll come with you," Sadie said plainly.

"All right." Caterina lead Sadie down to her car and opened the door for her. It was only a short drive back to her house, barely enough time for them to start a conversation. She pulled her car into the garage in the back and turned toward the house, assuming that Sadie would follow her.

Sadie did, still sleepy and half thinking that this--that going back to Caterina's with her after everything--was the dream.

The dogs came out as they walked inside, waiting for Caterina to pet them and shamelessly pushing their noses into Sadie's hands. Caterina patted them fondly. "You're not hungry or anything?"

"Uhm, no...I'm good...just sleepy," she said, patting the dogs absently as she smiled down at them.

"Okay." Caterina didn't know how much exploring Sadie had done while she had been gone, so she waited for her to follow her before heading upstairs. The lights in her bedroom shone dimly as she walked in, and a computer monitor flashed with her messages. She scrolled through them quickly as she undressed, looking forward to the day when Sadie would automatically know to undress her. "You can get into bed if you're tired. I have some emails I have to return. It will just be a minute."

Sadie hadn't gone up to the bedroom, and she looked around now with more wakeful curiosity. There would be time, she guessed to figure it all out though, so Sadie undressed unabashedly and climbed into bed to wait.

Caterina only responded to the things that absolutely couldn't wait before she pulled on a nightgown and headed to bed. She crawled in next to Sadie and tapped a button to turn the lights out. "Good night."

"Night," Sadie whispered, stretching as she rolled onto her side. Her dad was going to fucking kill her if he found out about this.


	3. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadie learns not to be late.

Rehearsal had long been over, but Sadie was enjoying her second cigarette. It had been a few weeks since she had really gotten to spend time with her friends. She hadn't told them about Caterina, and they hadn't asked; though, everyone figured she was sleeping with someone. She just played it cool. She looked at her watch, noting that it was close to twenty-three and sighed before making her excuses. By the time she got to Caterina's she would be an hour late. But Sadie wasn't too worried. When she finally got there, she used her key and sauntered in, taking her time in petting the dogs before even thinking of heading down to the room.

Caterina wasn't in the room when Sadie sauntered in, though the security system had alerted her when Sadie used her key. She was in her office, finishing up some work that she had planning on doing the next day. She was incredibly annoyed that Sadie hadn't thought to call and tell her that she was going to be late, and nothing annoyed Caterina quite so much as tardiness. It was a waste of her time. She pressed a button for the intercom. "Take your clothing off and kneel." She didn't tell Sadie just how long she would be kneeling there, but it was going to be for a while.

She flinched as Caterina's voice flooded the room. She looked around, wondering where the blonde was before simply shrugging. She took off her clothing, folding it less neatly than she could have and got to her knees, rolling her eyes.

Caterina finished what she was working on and then checked her email, taking care to respond to everyone that required a response. It was at least 45 minutes later before she bothered to join Sadie. "Do you have any idea just how much my time is worth?"

"What?" Sadie snapped, looking up even though she knew she wasn't supposed to. Her knees were aching and the floor was cold, and she really didn't give a damn what Caterina's time was worth.

"You were over an hour late." Caterina's voice was cold and even. "And I'd like to know how you intend to compensate me."

Sadie pursed her lips and just barely managed not to roll her eyes. "I had rehearsal, okay?"

"Then you should have called." Caterina pursed her lips. "You should get dressed. I have neither the patience or the desire to deal with you tonight."

"What?" Sadie stood and put her hands on her hips. "No."

Caterina glared at Sadie. "Put your clothes on and get out of my house." She turned to walk out of the room.

Sadie gaped, her cheeks and chest reddening with anger. She pulled on her clothes, huffing as she walked past Caterina and out of the house. Instead of going home, she went tot he bar that she knew her friends would be at. That would be more fun anyway.

Caterina let Sadie go. She was going to have to be taught a lesson, but it wouldn't be that night. She hoped that being sent away would make Sadie think twice about being late again, but she was by no means done punishing the girl for her tardiness or her attitude.

The next morning, Caterina walked up to Sadie's door and unlocked it. She rolled her eyes at the general disorder in Sadie's flat, but that wasn't really any of her concern. She walked into Sadie's bedroom and pulled the covers off of her. "It's time to get up."

"Unh?" Sadie curled into herself and pulled a pillow over her head. She had a headache, and she was pretty sure she hadn't asked for a wakeup call.

Caterina shook her. "Get up. We're going out."

"Shit." Sadie opened her eyes when she realized who it was. She slowly got out of bed and started looking around her jeans. "You could have fucking knocked," she mumbled. After the night before, she hadn't exactly expected to see Caterina again anytime soon.

"If I had knocked, would you have gotten up?" She still wasn't happy with Sadie and she crossed her arms as she watched her get dressed.

"Uhm...I don't know," Sadie said as she pulled her hair back. She went into her bathroom and brushed her teeth before coming back out and pulling on shoes. Her eyes were still dropping with sleep.

"Exactly." Caterina handed her a bag full of pastries. "You can eat in the car."

"I'm fine," she said, shoving the bag back to Caterina. "Let's just go or whatever."

Caterina took the bag back. "It's going to be a long day. I hope you didn't have any plans." If Sadie didn't eat, then it would be her own fault when she got hungry in a few hours. Caterina headed down to her car and started driving.

Sadie slumped in her seat and leaned against the door, sighing heavily to show her annoyance.

Caterina drove toward her office. It would be quiet on a Saturday and there wouldn't be any chance that they would run into Sadie's father. She parked the car and waited for Sadie to get out. The redhead frowned, not liking the venue one bit, but she had the grace not to say anything. Instead, she snatched a pastry out of the bag before getting out and ate it on their way into the building.

Caterina got into her private elevator and headed up to her office. She smiled at her secretary, leaving word that as far as anyone else was concerned, she wasn't in the building, and led Sadie into her office.

Following, Sadie went directly to the sofa and flopped onto it. She had no idea why Caterina wanted her with her at work, but she wasn't really in the mood to stand around thinking about it.

"Up." Caterina motioned. "I cleared part of my schedule last night to spend time with you, and now you're going to kneel here while I finish what I should have been doing last night." She pointed to a spot in a corner. "On your knees over there."

"Shit," Sadie muttered as she took her time about getting up. She sauntered over to the spot and knelt, not taking care about her posture.

Caterina chuckled and corrected Sadie's posture. "You're not going to win any points that way. And the longer you slouch, the longer you're going to have to stay there."

"Sorry," she mumbled, straightening. After what seemed like forever, Sadie let out a long sigh.

She ignored Sadie's sigh and kept working. It would be good for Sadie to learn some patience. "Put your hands behind your head." She would see how long Sadie could keep them there.

Sadie knew Caterina couldn't see her rolling her eyes, so she did so liberally as she raised her arms. This was not how she envisioned spending her Saturday, and she resented the hell out of Caterina for making her kneel there. After a while, her knees began to shake, but she bit her lip, determined not to give in.

Caterina was keeping an eye on Sadie and she noticed when Sadie started to shake. "Are you ready to apologize?"

"What?" Sadie lifted her chin and straightened her posture. "No," she said, sniffing.

"Suit yourself." Caterina went back to work and allowed Sadie to keep kneeling there, her hands behind her head. Caterina knew that her arms would start to fall asleep eventually.

Sadie bit back a whimper minute later. She wanted so badly to just let go, to just lie down on the floor and curl up. Her arms were going to sleep and her knees were shaking, but she wasn't ready to apologize.

Caterina put down her pen and watched Sadie. Either she would apologize, or she would fall over. She was simply waiting for one or the other to happen. She hoped that Sadie would apologize, but she had to admit that Sadie was determined.

Finally, the redhead crumpled to the floor, groaning angrily at herself. She didn't like to fail, but she didn't like to give in.

Caterina sighed and got up. "Did you enjoy that?" She helped Sadie up and to the couch.

"No," Sadie muttered.

"It would have been easy to avoid." Caterina got her a glass of water and rubbed Sadie's arms.

She sipped the glass of water sullenly and looked away, unwilling to admit that Caterina was right.

Caterina kissed the top of Sadie's head. "There's no point in sulking. And I'm still waiting for that apology." Caterina pursed her lips. "I'm nowhere close to finished with you for today."

"And if I apologize?" she asked, not looking up.

"Then we can move on."

"Fine." Sadie sighed softly and gritted her teeth for a moment. "Sorry."

"Thank you." Caterina kissed the top of Sadie's head. She stood up and went over to her desk, leaning against it. "Now come here."

She swallowed and stood, her stomach sinking with the feeling that this was only the beginning of her punishment.

Caterina stepped away from her desk. "Bend over the desk."

Shit. Sadie took a deep breath and did as she was told, bending over the desk inelegantly as her limbs were already beginning to get sore. Caterina reached around her and unfastened her jeans. Once they were around Sadie's ankles, she pressed the intercom and told her secretary to head home for the day. She listened to her secretary leave, but left the intercom channel open. "You're going to have to be very quiet."

Sadie's eyes widened and she craned her neck to look back questioningly at Caterina. "But..." she whispered.

"Quiet." Caterina rubbed her hand over Sadie's ass.

Her breath quickened and became jagged as it caught in her throat. Sadie was already wet, already working herself into a frenzy as she tried to think of how to get herself out of this. Finally, Caterina started spanking Sadie, finally letting out her anger and disappointment.

She wanted to cry out immediately at the sting, but she bit it back, instead blushing furiously at the humiliation. She had never been spanked, not even as a child, and Caterina had not done this to her before. She began to squirm angrily, trying to wriggle away.

Caterina kept spanking her, watching her ass turn red. "Hopefully you'll think twice about being late again." She didn't want to belabor the point, but she wanted to make sure that Sadie understood her.

Sadie sniffed as tears stung her eyes, but she closed her mouth against a whimper, muffling it.

"You're being very good." She rubbed Sadie's back with her free hand and spanked her a few more times.

So now she was praising her? What was Sadie supposed to do? If she made any noise anyone in the office that day would be able to hear her. Caterina didn't understand the punishment. She sniffed, wanting merely to hide but having too much pride to admit it.

Caterina stopped when she deemed that Sadie had had enough. She kept rubbing Sadie's back, not letting her up. She switched off the intercom and pushed Sadie's panties aside. Sadie sighed, hoping that relief was finally coming. She just wanted the moment to go away. It was inelegant; it was tasteless. She sniffed at the thought.

Caterina pushed her fingers into Sadie and started fucking her with no intent to make her come.

She groaned, pressing into Caterina, wanting it so badly she could taste her own desire. "God," Sadie gasped.

As soon as Sadie started rocking into her touch, Caterina pulled her fingers away and replaced her panties. "You're going to sit quietly until I'm ready to go." She slapped Sadie's ass once more and sat at her desk.

"Okay," Sadie said quietly. She could understand that; she could handle waiting, despite what she had shown early. She went and sat on the sofa, almost primly and looked at her hands. Her body ached for release, but she kept her legs inches apart, despite her instinct.

Caterina finished up her work for the day and shut down her computer. "We can go now." She stood and went to the door, waiting for Sadie to follow her. Sadie stood, almost scrambling. She wiped her face and hurried to follow Caterina out.

On the elevator ride, Caterina was silent, letting the encounter sink into Sadie's mind. She did not speak again until they were in the car.

"I think we need to have a conversation about just what this relationship is going to involve." She'd meant to have it earlier but Sadie was very distracting.

"Okay," Sadie said, still looking at her hands.

Caterina drove back to her house determined not to let Sadie distract her this time. She parked, and once inside, headed toward the living room. She didn't really spend much time there, but she didn't want to have this conversation in her bedroom or anywhere else. "Have a seat."

This seemed much too much like a conversation with a parent for Sadie's liking, and she squirmed on the sofa once she sat, losing most of her composure. The room seemed cold, sterile compared to Caterina's bedroom or what she remembered about the club.

The blonde smiled slightly as Sadie's discomfort. "Come here." she patted the seat next to her. It seemed like she might need to reassume Sadie before they started talking. Sadie moved over and sat, still uncomfortable.

Caterina put her arm around Sadie's shoulder and nuzzled against her cheek. "You need to relax."

"Right...sorry." She took a breath and leaned against Caterina lightly, not sure what was going on.

"It's okay to be nervous. We don't exactly know each other well."

It was true. They had been sleeping together for weeks, but Sadie could hardly tell one fact about Caterina that couldn't be found on the internet. She nodded.

Caterina pulled Sadie against her. "Do you have any questions about anything? About me?" She knew she wasn't great at sharing personal details about herself.

"Uhm..." Sadie wasn't exactly great at really caring about anyone other than herself. She swallowed again. "What, uhm...how did you end up here...I mean, in Paris...and then at the club?"

"The business brought me to Paris. And I've always loved the city, so it was easy to keep it here once it got successful enough that I could take it anywhere. And I just sort of stumbled into the club." She shrugged. "I ducked into a doorway to get out of the rain and charmed my way past the doorman at the time. He was easier to get around than his current replacement. I liked what I saw, so I stayed."

"That's it...you just...walked in and...decided you'd play along?"

"Amazingly, yes." Caterina smiled. "I know it seems unlikely."

"Yeah, it does." Sadie was almost jealous that she hadn't done something so cool.

Caterina kissed Sadie's temple. "Anything else?"

"I don't know...I don't even know what to ask," she admitted.

"It's okay. We have plenty of time." She kissed Sadie's neck. "Do you still want to do this?"

"Yeah, I just...I'm not sure what happened today." She shifted so that she could face Caterina. "I thought it was about...I don't know...that there was an aesthetic...and I just...I don't know." There were too many thoughts going through her mind.

Caterina chuckled. "Today wasn't refined enough for you?" She didn't really mean to make fun of Sadie, but she was genuinely amused.

"Uhm..." Sadie blushed.

"You know, this isn't a book, or a movie, or a tv show. It isn't all so romantic. There are probably going to be more days like today and not many that live up to your ideals. It just takes too much energy."

"Then what's the point?" she asked, blinking.

"Is that all you're interested in? Striking a pose and looking good?" Caterina raised an eyebrow.

"I...well I thought that was a lot of it," Sadie said, bristling a bit at being made fun of.

"It isn't. And if that's what you want, then I might have to introduce you to someone who might be more... compatible."

"No," she said a bit too quickly. "No...I don't want to be with anyone else."

"Okay. But you should know that I'm more interested in substance, rather than style." She ran a hand down Sadie's side. "And that involves taking you where I want and doing whatever I want with you once we're there... Within limits, of course."

"Okay..." Sadie shivered at the touch. She didn't like the thought of the messy parts, but Caterina made it all sound just...worth it with that self assured tone. "What kind of limits?"

"What sort of limits would you like?"

Sadie shook her head. "I wouldn't even know where to start, honestly..."

"Well, we can revisit this in a few months. But I'm not going to be breaking any laws, so if you're waiting for me to fuck you in the middle of a park or something, you'll be waiting a long time."

Sadie stood up and paced for a moment before stopped and putting her hands on her hips. "I just want to be the best..."

Caterina smirked. "I like that." She did enjoy being the best at something. "Not to repeat myself, but you're not going to be the best if you show up late. Being the best means devoting yourself to doing as you're told, to obeying my whims, whether they make sense to you or not."

After a deep breath, she sat back down. "Okay." That, at least, made sense.

"Good." Caterina smiled. "Do you have any plans for next weekend?"

"I don't think so...I mean...if I did...well, whatever. I'll cancel them." She tried to hide the grin that was building.

"I have a house out of the city. I was hoping that you would join me there. I think I've been rather neglectful of your education and I'd like to remedy that."

"Okay." Sadie licked her lips in anticipation. She could do this...she could prove to Caterina that she was the right one for her.

"Good. We can leave Friday afternoon, if that's goof for you."

"Yeah, absolutely." She smiled and bit her lip. "That sounds awesome."

"You don't have rehearsal that night?" Caterina wouldn't appreciate being stood up again.

"No, not on Fridays. But...uhm...the next week is a tech run, then performances...so I really need to, uhm, devote my time to that."

Caterina nodded. "That's fine. I just don't want you to tell me that you're going to be here and then not show up."

"I won't." She didn't want another spanking just yet.

Caterina nodded. "Then we understand each other."

"Yeah, totally." Sadie nodded and tensed to stand. She sensed a dismissal, and in truth she wanted some time to just think about what had happened that day

Caterina could tell that Sadie was ready to leave. "Do you want a ride home, or can I call you a car?"

"No...I'm just...going to walk, I think."

"All right. I'll pick you up Friday." Caterina stood up to see her out.


	4. Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caterina takes Sadie to the country for the weekend.

On Friday, Sadie packed a bag, not knowing what she would need or if she would really need anything for that matter. She was excited and nervous, and she was sure to be standing outside of her building when Caterina pulled up to the curb and opened her passenger door for Sadie.

Sadie tossed her bag into the back seat and slid in, grinning. "Hey..."

"Hello." Caterina leaned in and kissed Sadie lightly. "It's just under two hours. I hope you like early British punk."

"Uhm...yeah, that's cool." Sadie settled back into her seat and smiled when Caterina blasted the radio. It was a little weird, and she was more into techno; but she wasn't going to argue. Besides, she fell asleep about half an hour into the ride.

Caterina smiled slightly at Sadie while she slept, surprised that she could manage it with the radio as loud as it was. An hour and 45 minutes later, she pulled into the gravel driveway.

At the sound of the gravel crunching under the wheels, Sadie shifted and opened her eyes. "Oh..." She hadn't expected to sleep the whole time, but she had worked hard for most of the week to get things done so she could get away that weekend.

"Did you have a good nap?" Caterina put the car in park and looked to Sadie. The music wasn't blaring anymore, and she could almost hear the birds. The wary tension that gave her so much energy in the city started to seep away and she could feel the muscles in her shoulders relaxing. It made her wonder if Sadie was any good at massages, or if she'd be interested in learning.

"Yeah..." Sadie sat up and stretched before really taking a look at the house in front of them. "Wow, this place is...amazing."

"Thank you." Caterina got out of the car, the housekeeper already coming down the steps to put it in the garage. "Are you ready for this? Once we go inside, the rules change."

Sadie took a deep breath. It was so quiet and peaceful out there, and the sky was completely clear. She didn't have to worry about her friends or her father or learning her lines. She could really focus on pleasing Caterina. "Yeah...I'm ready."

"Good." Caterina led her up the front steps and inside, taking a deep breath as the cool of the house surrounded her. It was the complete opposite of Caterina's house in Paris and it looked like it hadn't been touched by a piece of modern technology since the invention of the light bulb. It made it easier for her to relax, and in other circumstances, she would worry about Sadie's reaction to a house without a TV.

Sadie followed and stepped in front of Caterina to look around the large foyer. She breathed in the crisp air, scented with fresh flowers and old books and smiled. It was like something out of a play or a book, something she might have dreamed up when playing in the garden or her grandfather's study when she was a little girl. "This is amazing."

"Mmm. Don't get attached to the view, you won't be seeing most of it." Caterina guided Sadie into a side room. "Give me your bag and take off your clothing."

She did as she was told, taking in what detail she could along the way. The room was small and the walk was short, and Sadie was already thrilled with the promise of the weekend. She handed Caterina her bag and methodically removed her clothing, taking care to fold it neatly. Sadie wondered if she should kneel, but she settled for simply standing there and looking at the floor.

Caterina took her clothing and her bag and sat them in the hallway. They would be taken up to her room before Caterina was done in the study. "Kneel. You'll stay on your knees while you're here unless I tell you otherwise."

Sadie drew in a sharp breath and got to her knees as gracefully as she could manage. She had been practicing, but she wasn't ready for how cold and hard the floor was underneath her knees.

"Good." Caterina ran a hand through Sadie's hair. "Now, I'm going to show you around. I suggest that you try to remember where everything is." She turned toward the door.

She bit her lip, hesitating a moment before she began to crawl after the blonde. It was certainly not her first choice for following, but after the last experience with making Caterina angry, Sadie wasn't ready to test her again. Instead, she tried to look as elegant as she thought possible.

Caterina set a brisk pace, or at least brisk for someone crawling, and started the tour. She knew that it would be difficult for Sadie to remember precisely where everything was, but from what she had already seen, Sadie had quite a bit of arrogance that she needed to chip away. It would do her good to be faced with a few impossible tasks and fail.

Soon, Sadie was breathless and almost dizzy. She tried to carefully commit each room to memory, especially the ones she thought she'd be revisiting the most often. She was already worried, though.

Caterina finally led Sadie into her private study and sat. She pointed to a spot on the rug in front of the chair. "Kneel there and look at me."

Sadie did as she was told, crawling over the rug and kneeling up, raising her eyes to meet Caterina's. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was trying not to let her chest heave after the effort. And her knees ached already.

"The rules for this weekend are very simple," Caterina started. "You'll kneel and keep your eyes down unless I tell you otherwise. You'll follow my commands implicitly, no matter how difficult or even impossible, you think something is. And you'll do so in good faith. I don't care about how clever you are. This isn't about thinking your way around what you're told to do and you'll punished if you try. Your body is mine now, and I'll do what I please with it, whether you understand my motives or not. You'll speak only when I give you leave. You'll need a safe word."

She swallowed the information and the tone of Caterina's voice, but Sadie was unsure if that was leave to speak, to come up with a safe word. She shifted in her spot, the question visible on her face.

"Do you have a word in mind?"

"Vogue," Sadie said softly, her cheeks flushed.

Caterina raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything about it. "And do you understand everything else?" She didn't want there to be any misunderstandings.

"Yes, ma'am," Sadie replied, holding Caterina's eyes.

"Good." Caterina nodded. "Now, I think I've left my favorite pen on the desk in the office downstairs. Go get it for me. You have five minutes." The pen wasn't in the office, and if she remembered correctly there weren't any pens on the desk. It was, in fact, in the study across from the office. But she didn't really care if she got the pen or not. She wanted to see what Sadie would do.

Sadie scrambled onto her hands and knees and headed for what she thought was the office. She was wrong initially, but she found it on the second try. It was when she found absolutely nothing but stationary in the desk drawers that she began to panic, and she had no idea how long she had been away. Finally, her heart fluttering, she crawled back upstairs empty handed and knelt on the rug.

Caterina let Sadie kneel there for a long minute before she turned to her. "Well..."

"I couldn't find it, ma'am," Sadie replied, trying not to let her apprehension lace her voice.

"Mmm." Caterina regarded her sternly. "Are you sure you looked in the right room?"

"Yes, ma'am. The office and not the study..." Sadie hoped.

"It seems I'm going to have to come with you, then." Caterina stood and grabbed a crop that had appeared while Sadie was gone. "Go." She swatted Sadie's ass.

Once she registered the sting, Sadie flinched and hurried down and into the study, trying to get ahead of Caterina so that she wouldn't do it again. She didn't have time to wonder if she had been set up for failure. Her mind was just trying to process moving her limbs in the right direction.

Caterina followed after Sadie, swatting at her ass whenever she slowed down and sometimes just because she felt like it. She barely paused when they got to the study and the pen wasn't there. "I guess we'll have to keep looking for it." She didn't indicate which direction might be correct, but let Sadie make the choice.

Sadie hesitated at the door and nearly yelped when she felt the sting of the crop. She hurried into the next room--a sitting room--and looked around frantically before going to the next, to no avail.

She merely followed after Sadie, the frequency of the slaps increasing as the number of incorrect rooms mounted. "You're wasting my time..."

Finally, she entered the study across from the office, hands shaking as she went through the desk. When she found the pen, Sadie was too thrown to be triumphant. She simply crawled as quickly as she could to Caterina's feet and knelt up, presenting it.

Caterina looked at her watch. "I expect you to do better from now on." She didn't tell Sadie just how long it had taken. She took the pen and headed back upstairs.

That was it? Sadie had expected a punishment or a reward or something. She hesitated to follow then simply found herself trying to catch up the whole way. Caterina didn't sit down immediately once she was back in the study. "Go rest your head against the seat of that chair, face down." She wanted Sadie steady for this.

Sadie caught her breath and scrambled to the chair, attempting to position herself as she was told. She couldn't imagine what Caterina was going to do with her, but at least this was a bit of a rest for her aching legs.

Caterina stood over Sadie and parted her hair to both sides of her neck. She stroked a fingernail down Sadie's spine, and then took the cap off of her pen. She brushed a thumb to clear Sadie's hairline for any stray hairs; she then set her pen against the skin there.

Sadie shivered, almost violently at the touch. She expected to be spanked, to be hit again like before...but not that.

The angle was a bit tricky, but Caterina managed a signature that was close to her normal one. She'd do it with a permanent marker if the weekend went well. It would last until she could get Sadie a proper collar.

"What..." Sadie bit back the rest, remembering that she wasn't supposed to speak without direction. She knew Caterina had written something, and she also knew that she would spend the entire weekend wondering what exactly that something was.

Caterina slapped Sadie's ass with her bare hand when she spoke. "Kneel."

Almost whimpering, Sadie knelt up and turned to face her mistress, keeping her eyes on the floor.

Caterina sat and regarded Sadie, "I hope you'll do better next time." She picked the crop back up and toyed with it, keeping it in Sadie's line of sight.

The redhead bit her lip, surprised to feel tears welling in her eyes. She had done everything she could, but it hadn't been her fault the pen wasn't where Caterina said it would be. It didn't quite occur to Sadie that she had been set up; she was too worried in that moment about having been disappointing and what the crop would feel like when Caterina really applied it to her skin.

Caterina shook her head in disapproval. It was adorable that Sadie was already so upset, but it wouldn't do any good to let Sadie know that. She slapped the crop against her hand one more time before standing back up. "Come on." She swatted at Sadie's ass again to encourage her to move quickly.

Breathlessly, Sadie got to her hands and knees, blinking away tears and simply trying to keep up with Caterina.

She kept encouraging Sadie forward with little taps on the ass. She drove her to the back door and opened it, waiting for Sadie to go out. At the creak of the door and the fresh air hitting her face, Sadie froze. She found herself scooting backwards and looking up at Caterina questioningly. Outside?

Caterina swatted her ass harder. "Is there a problem?"

Sadie hesitated one more moment before carefully moving forward. Her mind was racing. Would someone see her out there? Where was the housekeeper; were there others? A whimper rose in the back of her throat, and Sadie couldn't keep it down.

Caterina stepped outside and walked over to one of the deck chairs. She motioned Sadie over to kneel next to her.

While she knelt there, Sadie fidgeted, trying to look around, to see if there was a wall or fence or something. She started to bite her lip raw, and her knees were still aching.

Caterina watched Sadie for a minute, until the housekeeper's arrival with a drink distracted her. She smiled at the woman and took the drink. She knew the woman was used to her peculiarities and she knew that she wouldn't think anything about a naked woman kneeling at her side.

Sadie blushed brightly, but she kept her eyes on the ground. If the housekeeper thought anything of it, Sadie couldn't see it. She shifted, legs shaking.

Once the housekeeper left, Caternia shifted sideways on the chair. She patted the end of it, indicating that Sadie should come sit.

This surprised her more than anything else. Sadie expected Caterina to leave her on the ground until she collapsed then herd her back into the house. She complied, legs shaking as she sat down and looked at her hand.

Caterina tilted Sadie's chin up, looking at her now bruised lip. "Thank you for trusting me." Caterina ran her fingers through Sadie's hair. "There's a stone wall that way," she pointed. "And the housekeeper isn't going to say anything."

"Okay," Sadie said quietly. When she looked into Caterina's hazel eyes, she felt more at ease, enough to smile just slightly. Then she frowned, hoping that was alright.

"You're allowed to smile." Caterina kept running her fingers through Sadie's hair. "I like seeing how you react to thing, positive and negative. I'm not interested in an perfectly calm automaton. I expect you to be upset when you don't get what you want or when you fail and I expect you to be happy when you succeed."

Sadie nodded and pressed into Caterina's hand. She wondered if she was constantly going to be trying to divine what exactly Caterina wanted, what exactly she could do to become absolutely perfect in Caterina's eyes. It hadn't been in any time in the scheme of everything else going on in Sadie's life, but she wanted to be that to Caterina more than she could rationalize.

Caterina kept petting her for a moment before she stopped. She rubbed her thumb over Sadie's lip and kissed her gently. "Stop that. Now, back on the ground with you."

As ordered, Sadie slipped to the cool ground, still self conscious even though she now knew that the garden was walled in. The housekeeper could come out again at any time, but she supposed she should get used to that.

She ran her fingers through Sadie's hair, thinking about what to do with her next. Her eyes fell on a dog toy that had been waiting for the dogs to make the trip out. Caterina leaned over and grabbed it, toying with it lightly. "Go fetch." Caterina tossed it out into the yard.

Sadie froze, already forgetting her resolution to be perfect, as well as her manners. She shifted, looking up at Caterina in disbelief.

"Go on." She swatted at Sadie's ass.

With one more recklessly indignant look, Sadie began to crawl across the grass, her cheeks flaming. She went where she thought the toy had landed, convincing herself that this wasn't so bad, that she could handle it. When it came to carefully picking up the toy in her teeth and crawling back, Sadie wasn't so sure. She dropped it at Caterina's feet and looked away.

Caterina picked the toy up and tossed it again, without the verbal command this time.

With an audible sigh, Sadie turned, going after it again. She took her time, staying of the path and packing her way through the grass. She tried to shuto ut her thoughts as she took it in her teeth and brought it back again.

Caterina raised an eyebrow at Sadie's attitude. "Is something wrong?" She took the toy from Sadie rather than letting her drop it again.

"No," Sadie murmured. She'd done what she'd been asked to do, after all.

"It doesn't seem that way." She tossed the toy. "You might try mustering up some more enthusiasm this time. We can do this all day."

Sadie chewed her lip as her eyes followed the toy. She tried to move faster a bit, stumbling along the way. When Sadie returned, she was panting lightly. Her knees were aching and she looked up to Caterina hopefully.

"Better." Caterina put the toy down and stood. "Let's go." She headed back inside.

With an inward sigh of relief, Sadie followed. She wondered how much more of that she would have to endure that weekend.. and she wondered when she might get to do something other than be on her knees, following her mistress. But if it meant that Caterina would actually take her out, that she would get to keep sleeping with her, Sadie knew she would keep doing it.

Caterina wandered somewhat aimlessly, letting Sadie follow her around. She was starting to get hungry and she wondered how Sadie would take to being hand fed.

Sadie followed her into the dining room, wondering if she would finally get to rest. She knelt beside Caterina's chair, glad of the large plush rug that covered most of the hard floor. Sadie hadn't realized just how absolutely tired she was.

She dropped a hand into Sadie's hair and thanked the housekeeper as she brought in dinner. Caterina noticed that everything was already bite sized and she smiled to herself. She was going to have to make sure her housekeeper never decided to go work for someone else. She took a bite, then put another on her palm and offered it to Sadie.

Without a thought, Sadie carefully took the piece from Caterina's hand. It smelled so good that she didn't care how she had to eat it.

Caterina kept feeding her that way through dinner, occasionally petting her in between bites. Sadie was content with the routine; it was easy, and she didn't have to really think about it that much. Plus, the food made the whole thing absolutely worth it. When she had had enough, she found herself leaning her head against Caterina's leg.

Caterina let her rest there for a moment before she pushed back from the table. "I think it's time to see what you can handle." Caterina stood and headed upstairs.

Sadie shifted and hurried to follow. She wanted to know what Caterina meant; she thought that was what the whole day had been about.

She led Sadie into her bedroom and then into an adjoining room and pointed to an oversized chest. "Brace yourself on that."

Without questioning, Sadie did as she was told. She couldn't help but look over her shoulder to see what Caterina was doing. She wasn't on her knees and something new was about to happen, something possibly more exciting than the rest of the day put together.

Caterina opened a drawer and pulled out a short leather strap. "This is going to hurt. And it's going to hurt more the longer I do it" She put a hand on the small of Sadie's back, rubbing it slowly. "I need you to tell me when you can't take it anymore."

"I...okay..." Sadie took a deep breath and tried not to shiver. She wasn't sure if it was fear or excitement, but she was already wet, already ready.

Caterina started easily enough, though without warning. She kept the first few blows light, but steadily increased her intensity. She was pleased with how Sadie was responding, but she wanted to know what the girl would do when it got to be too much.

At first, Sadie was simply surprised. She bit back a yelp and squirmed, but as the pain grew, Sadie couldn't hold it in. She cried out, listening to herself as if she wasn't enduring it. She wanted so badly to make Caterina proud that she tried not to feel it, tried to bite her tears back when it was becoming too much. Caterina made a note of when Sadie started crying, but she didn't stop. She needed Sadie to tell her when it was too much.

"I..." Sadie tried to bite it back, tried to take more. But she couldn't. she collapsed onto the chest and clung to it. "Stop...stop...I'm sorry..."

Caterina stopped as soon as Sadie told her too. She tossed the strap onto the chest and pulled Sadie into her arms. "You're a good girl. That was perfect."

Sadie snuggled close, pressing her cheek to Caterina's chest, feeling her heat through her shirt. She ached, ached from the strap, from the hours on her knees, but heard that made it completely wroth it. She found herself smiling softly.

Caterina kept running her fingers through Sadie's hair. "You're going to be sore tomorrow." She kissed the top of Sadie's head and let her cry.

"I can take it," Sadie whispered even as she sobbed into Caterina's chest. Sadie vowed that she would take it. She would take whatever Caterina gave her, even if it was carrying a dog toy back and forth for the rest of their time together, only if she could hear that from her again.

"I know. I know you can." Caterina didn't let her go as she walked her to the bed in the other room. "Come lie down."

Sadie did as she was told, crawling onto the bed. She lay on her stomach, wincing at the pain that just moving caused.

She rubbed the small of Sadie's back. "Just stay still. I'm not going far." She kissed Sadie's shoulder blade and then went to her desk. She had just a bit of paperwork to finish up and she wanted to give Sadie some time to recover before she made her start moving again.

With Caterina gone, all Sadie could focus on was the throbbing in her back. The rest of the day was blur, and she couldn't really even find the energy to panic when she realized she couldn't remember half of the places Caterina had shown her in the house. Instead, she felt a strange contentment settle over her. She didn't need to think; Caterina was happy, and Sadie knew that when she woke up the next morning, she would already be contemplating how to keep her that way. For now, though, she could simply wait.

It only took Caterina 20 minutes to finish up with everything, then headed back into the room. Sadie looked content enough, and the welts covering her thighs and ass made Caterina smile. "Come undress me." She crooked a finger at Sadie.

Sadie scrambled up, her body already stiff. She bit her lips, concentrating as she began to unbutton Caterina's blouse. She fumbled at first, but after a moment, she found her legs, found her fingers and became more sure of herself as she finished with the shirt and started on Caterina's jeans.

Caterina smiled at Sadie as she undressed her, stepping out of her jeans and pointing toward the laundry basket. "Good girl."

Even as she put them away to be washed, Sadie was folding the jeans. She went back to Caterina, hesitating only a moment before removing the blonde's bra and dropping to her knees to remove her panties.

"Don't bother getting up." Caterina smirked at Sadie and stepped out of her panties. She slid her fingers into Sadie's hair, and pulled her forward.

At least in this, Sadie knew without a doubt she could excel. She was almost smirking as she leaned forward, eagerly pressing her tongue between Caterina's legs. She licked a long stroke upwards before pressing, circling Caterina's clit and finally nipping it lightly.

"Mmmmm." Caterina held Sadie there as she kept licking, throughly enjoying herself. After a minute, she pulled Sadie away.

Almost dazed, Sadie looked up, blinking. She felt a whimper, a question rise in her throat as she looked up, wondering what she had done wrong.

Caterina ran her fingers through Sadie's hair. "Go get in bed." She bent down and kissed Sadie lightly.

Sadie swallowed before standing and going to the bed, her legs heavy. She could still taste Caterina in her mouth, and she wanted more, wanted to finish.

The blonde went over to a chest in the room and pulled out a strap-on. Once it was settled on her hips, she sauntered over to the bed and crooked her finger at Sadie.

_Oh, God._ Sadie crawled to her and looked up, questioningly, eagerly. She smiled as she took the cock between her lips, sucking lightly.

Caterina's hands were back in Sadie's hair, encouraging her to take more of the dildo into her mouth. "That's it. Think about what that's going to feel like while I'm fucking you with it."

She closed her eyes for a brief moment before looking back up to Caterina, taking the dildo back as if the blonde could feel every moment of it. Sadie's moan was muffled by it, but she hoped Caterina could see just how much she was enjoying herself.

Caterina eventually pulled the dildo from Sadie's mouth and pushed her down onto the bed. She pushed between Sadie's legs, pulled her toward the edge of the bed.

Sadie moaned wantonly and pressed into Caterina, begging for more. She wrapped her arms around the blonde, nuzzling into her neck. nipping the skin there lightly.

"That's it." Caterina kept fucking her, thoroughly enjoying herself. She pulled her closer, pressing their skin together. Sadie clung. She was so close, but she knew she didn't have permission to come, knew she would be punished for letting go.

Caterina didn't stop; she kept thrusting into Sadie. "Do you want to come?" She bit Sadie's neck, knowing that it would leave a mark.

"Yes," Sadie whimpered. "Please...please, Caterina."

"Mmm. I like hearing you beg." She flicked Sadie's clit, but still didn't give her permission.

Sadie sniffed and bucked against the touch. "P-please," she whined, desperate, tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

"How badly do you want it? Tell me." Caterina sucked on Sadie's collarbone and pushed the cock into Sadie.

"I can't...I...please," Sadie cried. "S-so bad...s-so badly...please."

"You can come." Caterina kissed Sadie hard as she fucked her and pressed her thumb into Sadie's clit.

Crying out, Sadie did, rocking forward, whimpering, clinging to Caterina, her nails digging into the blonde's back. "Thank you," she whispered breathlessly as she began to come down. "Thank you..."

"Good girl... good girl." Caterina kissed Sadie's cheeks and held her close. She wiped her cheeks and rubbed her back soothingly.

When Sadie finally settled, she leaned heavily against Caterina, eyes closing heavily with contentment.

"Ready to finish what you started?" Caterina petted Sadie and laid her back in the bed.

"Uhm..." Sadie blinked lazily as she looked up to the blonde.

Caterina unbuckled the harness. "Come on. No falling asleep. Not yet."

Sadie drug herself to her knees and smiled to caterina as she tried to wake herself up. She sank, pressing her tongue into the blonde, though with less deliberate intent this time.

"Focus." Caterina grabbed Sadie's head and held her in place.

The word was like a jolt through her and Sadie blinked, pausing for a moment before starting again, this time determined to please Caterina.

"Mmmm..." Caterina squirmed under Sadie's tongue. She was already close and it would take much for Sadie to push her over the edge.

Sadie whimpered and squirmed, pressing harder, circling as she pushed her fingers into Caterina.

It was enough to make Caterina shudder, her muscles contracting around Sadie's fingers. She sighed as she relaxed and beckoned Sadie up beside her.

She scrambled up and settled beside Caterina, snuggling close as she forgot the pain of the stripes on the backs of her thighs. Sadie fell asleep immediately and did not move throughout the night. She would have been content to stay there, to sleep all the way through the morning and enjoy a leisurely next day.


	5. Recapitulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caterina returns from a trip to find Sadie acting oddly.

Caterina opened her front door and dropped her bag at the foot of the stairs. She'd been through 18 time zones in 4 days and she was exhausted. Two phone calls and the entire disaster could have been avoided, but no one had bothered to make those calls, so she had been forced to fix the problems in person. She had barely spoken to Sadie since the first call to tell her that she had to leave town. She couldn't even remember if she had told her when she would be getting back. She absently petted Dali as he came up to sniff at her.

Sadie rounded the corner from the kitchen as soon as she heard the doors open, and the other two dogs followed behind. She had a bright smile on her face when she saw Caterina, but it was tinged with worry. Before greeting her, she rubbed the back of her neck, ever conscious that the pristine inked signature there had faded and smudged and was now entirely gone. "Welcome home," she said as she sank to her knees.

Caterina motioned for Sadie to stand and wrapped her arms around her as soon as she did. "God, you feel good." She buried her head in Sadie's neck, letting the stress slowly drain from her shoulders. "I wasn't sure if you'd be here. I'm glad that you are."

"You asked me to..." Sadie wanted to relax in Caterina's arms, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the blonde saw her neck. She fidgeted uncharacteristically before pulling away. "Let me take your bag...and I'll...I'll just run you a bath." She flashed a smile.

"I did?" Caterina reeled slightly as Sadie pulled away. She could tell that something was wrong, but she wasn't thinking clearly enough to know what it was. She couldn't even remember a conversation from what had to have been only hours before. "A bath sounds wonderful." She could already feel the warm water around her and Sadie in her arms. "You should join me."

"Yeah...of course..." Sadie swallowed, hoping Caterina wouldn't want her hair up. She should have had someone trace the signature before it disappeared. But then she'd have to _tell_ someone. She pulled away entirely and hurried upstairs to start the water in Caterina's all too luxurious tub.

Caterina followed Sadie upstairs at a much more leisurely pace, giving the girl time to fill the tub and get undressed. When Caterina walked into the bathroom, it was already warm and it smelled faintly of lemon and rosemary. "Mmm. This is perfect." She allowed Sadie to help undress her, though she didn't have much patience for the ritual, eager to be rid of her clothing, and she twisted her hair up and stepped into the bath before Sadie could finish putting her clothes in the hamper.

Sadie bit her lips. Caterina was tired, and in the back of her mind, she knew that. But more pressing fears told her that the blonde was impatient with something she was doing, that Caterina was already upset with her. She stepped into the tub, sinking down behind Caterina and immediately lathering a loofa in order to bathe the older woman.

"That feels... so good." Caterina relaxed back into Sadie's hands, enjoying the way that the loofa scratched against her back. She let her finish, then said, "C'mere," tugging Sadie forward and into her arms.

Caterina kissed the side of Sadie's neck. "I just want to hold you for a little while, okay?" She wrapped her arms around Sadie and settled against the back of the the tub.

Sadie tensed. Caterina's kiss was so perilously close to the spot. Her mind raced as to what to do. She didn't want to anger Caterina right after she'd come home, but she didn't want to be punished for not saying anything, for making excuses. "Okay," she said quietly.

Feeling Sadie tense, Caterina pulled back slightly. "Sadie, is everything okay?" Something about the girl's behavior was off and Caterina was starting to worry.

After drawing in a deep, slow breath, Sadie straightened her posture. She turned towards Caterina, kneeling up in the tub and lowering her eyes. "I'm sorry, Caterina...I tried not to wash it so it wouldn't fade, but I...I couldn't help it. Once it smudged..." She shook her head.

Fade? Smudge? Caterina was utterly confused and she looked it. "What in the world are you talking about?"

Sadie looked up, confusion and hurt changing her features. "The...the place where you marked my neck."

Recognition dawned in Caterina's eyes. "Oh, Sadie..." Clearly Sadie had thought that she would be mad at her for letting it disappear. Caterina sighed. It was something that was important to Sadie and she had completely forgotten about it. "I'm so sorry." She wrapped a hand around the back of Sadie's neck and squeezed it slightly, pulling her in close.

No! I'm sorry..." Sadie said, nuzzling Caterina. "I should have tired harder." She always tried harder, tried better. Caterina wanted her to be perfect, and Sadie knew this was a mark on that.

Caterina cupped Sadie's face and tilted her head up. "Sadie, it's just ink." She kissed her lightly. "It washes away. I'm not upset. I can do it again once we get out of the bath."

"Okay," Sadie replied, relieved not at Caterina's nonchalant reaction but at the fact that she would once again be marked.

Caterina looked at Sadie more closely. "Sadie... do you want something more permanent?" It wasn't something that had really occurred to her, but after her distress at the ink fading away, it seemed like something that Sadie might be interested in.

"What?" Sadie asked. She was already settling back into Caterina, ready, now to enjoy the indulgence of the bath.

Caterina wrapped her arms around Sadie and leaned back once again, finally letting herself relax. "Just... something that you would have to worry about fading away. A necklace that you could wear all of the time, like a collar but more subtle." She rubbed the spot on Sadie's neck where her signature normally was. It was such a nice aesthetic. She would be sad to see it disappear. That gave her an idea, if Sadie was willing. "Or maybe a tattoo, up under your hairline." It wouldn't be that much higher than where she normally put her signature.

The brunette relaxed back, thinking of what sort of necklace Caterina might get her. She closed her eyes, imagining it, but at the suggestion of a tattoo, she opened them again, cheeks flushing lightly. "A tattoo..." Her interest was obvious, but there was a sort of awe that laced her voice.

"Mmhmm. Maybe not my full name," there was no telling what sort of situation Sadie might find herself in in the future where that wouldn't be prudent, "but possibly my initials."

"That sounds..." Exciting. A thrill ran through Sadie's center. She had read things--branding and piercings and the like. It was so permanent, and she didn't even give a thought to whether or not she would still want it, would still be doing this in the future. "Yeah...cool."

Caterina chuckled. "Cool?" She had expected that Sadie would want to think about it for longer than five seconds.

The brunette shrugged and sank more into the warm water. "It's what you want, isn't it?" And whatever Caterina wanted, Sadie, no matter how resistant she might be at first, gave her.

I want you think think about it." Caterina kissed the side of Sadie's neck again. "I'd be just as happy to get you a necklace."

"Okay..." Sadie smiled to herself, her mind already made up. The little hairs on the back of her neck stood up in anticipation, and she wondered if Caterina already knew an artist, if they would do it at the shop or at the club. The possibilities filled her mind as the water began to grow cold.

Caterina sighed as the water got too cold to be relaxing. It was still early, but her eyes were drifting closed. "Time to get out." She let Sadie go. "I think I'm going to go to sleep, but you're free to stay up if you like."

Sadie rose and got Caterina's towel as she let herself drip onto the rug. She held it out for the blonde. "Do you want me to stay?"

"Only if you want. I don't think I'm going to be very exciting until after I've gotten some sleep." Caterina dried off and pulled a robe on, then started drying Sadie, tweaking one of her nipples affectionately.


	6. Finale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caterina gives Sadie a present.

Caterina smiled down at the piece of paper. She had been working on it for a week, which seem absurd for nothing more than her initials, CS. But she was a perfectionist, and if Sadie was going to be wearing this for the rest of her life, Caterina didn't think perfection was too much to ask. Finding a reputable artist had been easier than making the design. She had dinner alone with Hilda and Geoffrey and arranged for him to do the sitting at her house. Caterina was smiling in anticipation as she opened the front door.

It was easy to fall back into Caterina's normal schedule, and Sadie was kneeling on the cold floor at the foot of the stairs. She did not look up when Caterina entered, but she did straighten her back.

Caterina barely offered Sadie a glance as she took of her coat and hung it up. She petted the dogs, then Sadie, and motioned for Sadie to get up and follow her to the kitchen. She pulled the sketch out and put it on the counter as she started making a dinner. "What do you think?"

Sadie rose up and leaned on the counter. She picked up the sketch, holding it up and then out before putting it down again. "It's wonderful," she said, smiling to Caterina.

Caterina smiled back. "I'm glad you like it. The tattoo artist will be here after dinner." She idly ran a hand down Sadie's side before going back to her cooking.

"Really?" Sadie squirmed.

"Mmhmm." Caterina double checked that Sadie had fed the dogs. "Are you ready?"

"Of course..." Sadie was grinning as she leaned against the counter and fingered the sheet of paper with the design on it. "I mean, yes. I can't wait." She went to Caterina and kissed her cheek. "Thank you so much."

Caterina smiled indulgently at Sadie. "You can thank me when it's finished." She pulled Sadie into her arms and kissed her properly, her hand in the middle of Sadie's back, holding her possessively.

"I will," Sadie whispered, pressing into Caterina appreciatively. She could only imagine what it would feel like, the high she would get.

"If only we had time now." Caterina fondled one of Sadie's breasts for a minute before she had to turn back to the food.

Sadie bit her lip to calm herself before backing up a distance and sinking to her knees beside the table. The smells from whatever Caterina was cooking were delicious, but she couldn't really focus on that.

Once she sat to eat, time passed quickly for Caterina. She fed Sadie for the first half of of the meal before letting her sit at the table to finish, wanting to make sure that she had eaten more than enough before the tattoo. She grabbed the plates once she was finished and took them to the sink. "I'll clean up tonight. You should go get dressed."

"Oh..." Sadie didn't know why she had expected to remain unclothed. She so rarely wore anything when at Caterina's, but she supposed finding a tattoo artist who would have been comfortable with that dynamic would have taken more time. She rose from her seat and took one last sip of her wine before heading upstairs, returning a few minutes later in jeans and a t-shirt.

Caterina was letting Geoffrey in as Sadie came back downstairs. She kissed his cheeks before turning to the redhead. "There you are," she smiled at Sadie. "Sadie, this is Geoffrey."

Immediately, Sadie offered her hand and smiled. "Hey...cool. Nice to meet you."

"You too." Geoffrey shook her hand and looked between them. "So, shall we do this in the kitchen?"

"The lighting should be better there." Caterina ushered them both into the kitchen and let the dogs out, not wanting them to get overly curious.

Sadie licked her lips as she pulled her hair up into a high bun. She walked into the kitchen and pulled out one of the chairs, turning it around and sitting in it backwards, as she suspected he'd want.

Geoffrey touched Sadie's shoulder lightly. "Actually, if we're doing your neck, I brought a table. You can't move as much if you're lying down. I'll just go get it." He looked around the kitchen for a second first, then turned and left.

"Oh...right.." Sadie blushed lightly at the haste her anticipation had put her into.

Geoffrey was back a minute later carrying a folding massage table and head rest. He was silent as he set it up and disinfected everything. "Right. There we are." He patted the table. "So... What am I doing?" Caterina has described her thoughts briefly, but he hasn't seen the design yet.

Sadie looked to Caterina for permission before handing Geoffrey the paper. She smiled. "This...uhm...Caterina will show you where." She got onto the table and laid face down, trying not to squirm as she waited.

Geoffrey raised his eyebrows, but he didn't say anything. Caterina came over and put a calming hand on Sadie's shoulder, then brushed the stray hairs back from her neck. "She wants it just at her hairline, here." She brushed her thumb over the exact spot.

"Well, that shouldn't be too difficult." Geoffrey pulled out a razor and shaved the spot. He took a thin tipped sharpie out of his pants pocket and copied the initials. "How's that?" He looked to Caterina, knowing Sadie's opinion didn't matter much, that the girl had already consented and was content to leave the rest up to her mistress.

Sadie tried to hold still, tried not to grin. She wanted to see, but there was something thrilling about having to wait.

"That's wonderful. Thank you." Caterina squeezed Sadie's shoulder. "Do you want to see?"

"It's okay," she said breathlessly. "I trust you."

"Right." Geoffrey pulled on black nitrile gloves and started assembling his tattoo gun and setting out the ink. "This shouldn't take too long." He flashed a grin at Caterina. "You know, you didn't tell me how long you two have actually been together..."

Caterina took a seat and smiled thoughtfully. "Just over a year..."

"Nearly two," Sadie corrected from the table. And Caterina tilted her head as she ran the months through her mind.

"Yes...that's right. Nearly two, actually. It goes by so fast."

Geoffrey nodded and started on the tattoo. "That's nice." He inked the tail of the S, carefully looking between his marker outline and the sketch. He had a fair idea how long Caterina and Hilda had been together from some of the things Hilda had said, but he wasn't too worried about that.

Caterina stood to look more closely. "That's beautiful," she murmured.

"Thank you." He finished with the C and went to work on the embellishments. "Did you end up doing the design yourself, then?"

"I did." Caterina sat again. "It needed to be...mmm...unique."

"It's a good one. It has a nice balance." He put the finishing touches on the tattoo and wiped it clean. "If you're ever interested in getting something yourself... Or if you could ever convince Hilda, actually..." He smiled up at her, running a hand down Sadie's side and patter her hip. "You're done."

"Mm, I'll keep that in mind." Caterina smirked as she blatantly ran her eyes over the muscles in his arms. Sadie sat up, grinning. "Can I see?"

Geoffrey pulled out a mirror and handed it to Sadie. "You'll have to go into a bathroom or something. I've only got one mirror with me."

Sadie took it and hurried off to one of the half baths downstairs. Caterina watched her go before turning back to Geoffrey. She stood and offered her hand. "I'm very impressed. Thank you."

Geoffrey stripped his gloves off and took her hand. "Thank you." He started packing up while he waited for Sadie to come back and give her verdict.

"It's so great..." Sadie said, bursting back into the kitchen. She was grinning and her cheeks were flushed as she clutched Geoffrey's mirror.

Geoffrey smiled widely at Sadie's enthusiasm. "I'm glad you like it.." He quickly covered it. "Leave that on there for about hour, then just keep it clean and moisturized. Don't pick at the scabs and it if it needs touched up, let me know. You'll want to cover it while you shower."

"Awesome, thanks." She resisted the urge to reach back and touch it, to remind herself, despite the throbbing, that it was really there. She also wondered if the next time they saw Geoffrey at the club whether she would be thanking him personally. Sadie didn't particularly care for men, but she wasn't averse to playing once in a while.

"You're welcome." He was glad that Sadie was happy, though he turned to Caterina. "Was there anything else?"

"Not at all." Caterina smiled again. "You and Hilda should really get to the club more often, you know."

"You know how she is...always out at the stables." He grinned.

"And I'm sure she's expecting you back." Caterina shook his hand again before ushering him out.

Caterina walked back to kitchen and Sadie. "So I take it you're happy with how it turned out?"

"I love it," Sadie said breathlessly. She kissed Caterina, pressing into her. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Caterina wrapped her arms around Sadie. "I'm happy you like it."

"I'm yours," Sadie whispered, almost in awe even though it had been so long. She nuzzled Caterina's neck thoughtfully. "I'm yours."

"Mmm... You are." She kissed Sadie and held her close. "I'm guessing I'm not going to be able to put a collar on you for a few weeks."

"Uhm...he said I couldn't pick at it," Sadie said, squirming, "so I don't think I collar would be good."

"Well, I think I can make do." She pushed her hands under the edge of Sadie's t-shirt enjoying the feeling of worn cotton on the backs of her hands. "And I think it's time to go upstairs."

Sadie smiled, shivering at Caterina's touch. A collar, she knew, would wear in time, but Caterina's initials would always be there. And she took comfort in that.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Bridled](https://archiveofourown.org/works/68312) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo)
  * [Awakening](https://archiveofourown.org/works/71547) by [futureimperfect](https://archiveofourown.org/users/futureimperfect/pseuds/futureimperfect), [Miri Cleo (miri_cleo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miri_cleo/pseuds/Miri%20Cleo)




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